Anglicanism and Episcopalianism

The Church of England

Canterbury Cathedral

A branch of the Christian religion, The Anglican Communion is an organization of autonomous national churches connected with the Church of England, which has its roots in the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

Anglicanism or Episcopalianism is the general form of doctrine, worship and structure based on the tradition of the Church of England, which extends beyond membership in the Anglican Communion.

Anglicanism is characterized by a via media (middle way) between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Anglicans are not subject to the Pope and are Protestant in most areas of doctrine, but Anglicans also retain many Catholic forms of worship, including a hierarchy based on bishops (which is the meaning of the world "Episcopalian").